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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to the sublime MPB legend João Bosco (a singer-songwriter-guitarist) and standout guitarist Luiz Brasil perform in the “Bratuques” series at the Sala Baden Powell in Copacabana. Conceived and coordinated by Delira Música’s Luciana Pegorer, the series features five outstanding instrumental musicians as the “hosts” for each show (always on Tuesday nights) and two well-known “guests.”

Bosco and Brazil were “invited” the night I attended; others slated to visit in October and November include Toninho Horta, Jorge Vercillo, Torcuato Mariano, Gabriel Grossi, Margareth Menezes, Moraes Moreira, Armandinho, Rita Ribeiro, Arthur Maia, Carlos Malta, and Chico César. Milton Nascimento will appear by himself on Oct. 13, but it looks to be a private show not open to the public.

Marco Lobo, "Bratuques"

The hosts are led by percussionist Marco Lobo, who does the introductions. Lobo is a master of the berimbau (a musical bow with a steel string and gourd), is adept with various drums (including the alfaia, used in maracatu), and wields an impressive assortment of percussion instruments, many of them quite unusual. He has toured with Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, and Billy Cobham; Delira recently released his Aláfia album.

Pianist-keyboardist Kiko Continentino, bassist Gastão Villeroy, drummer Erivelton Silva, and saxophonist-flutist Widor Santiago are the rest of the Bratuques crew. The night I was there, the hosts stretched out on several of their own numbers, often in a jazz-fusion vein, and backed Bosco and Brazil on their compositions.

Lobo and Continentino have released albums with the Delira label, which was founded in 2003 by Pegorer, formerly an executive with Warner Music Brazil. Delira’s releases of quality instrumental works are a bright spot in a struggling Brazilian music industry. Continentino, Gabriel Grossi, Maurício Einhorn, Gisbranco, Guilherme Dias Gomes, Turíbio Santos, Caraivana, Torcuato Mariano, Gilson Peranzzetta, Carlos Malta, and Marcos Souza are others with albums on Delira. If you like Brazilian jazz and instrumental music, I recommend visiting the label’s website and checking out the audio samples from its catalog. Better yet, if you’re in Rio, check out the Bratuques shows.

About Me

I'm the author of "The Brazilian Music Book," a collection of interviews with iconic Brazilian musicians, and co-author of "The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil" (Temple University Press). I have contributed blogs and articles about music, culture, and the environment to The Huffington Post, Billboard and many other publications. I have also worked on Portuguese/English translations for academics, government agencies and major corporations. I can be reached at the email here and at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismcgowan.